We've been having a real heat wave this week with our temperatures soaring up into the high 20's, accompanied with high humidity. I don't handle the heat well. It saps all my energy. Todd, on the other hand, soaks it up like a sponge.

This is barbeque weather . . . salad season . . . stay out of the heat of the kitchen season . . .




Yesterday I made this delicious fruit salad that was really refreshing. I just took whatever fruit I had on hand in the kitchen and chopped it up into a bowl. What makes this just a touch different than an ordinary fruit salad though . . .

is the tasty spicy marinade. mmmm . . . red chili and ginger . . .



*Spiced Fruit Salad*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Nothing could be more refreshing in the summer than a delicious fruit salad for dessert. Healthy, colourful and, in the case of this one, sweetly spiced! It's a real pleaser!

110g (1/2 cup) of caster sugar (superfine)
4 slices of fresh ginger
1 small red chili, cut in half
4 ounces (1/2 cup) water
Juice and zest of 2 limes
fruit, a mixture of watermelon, honeydew melon, mango, banana, cherries,pineapple, kiwi fruit etc., sliced and chopped
(enough for 4 portions)



Put the sugar into a saucepan over medium heat along with the water, ginger and chili. Heat until the sugar melts. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Add the lime juice and zest. Remove the chili and ginger.

Put the fruit into a bowl. Pour the syrup over. Place in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes. Serve chilled on it's own or with some ice cream or sorbet if desired.

I'm not sure who it was that first recognized that if you beat egg whites together with a bit of sugar and then baked it that you could come up with a heavenly concotion as light as a cloud and quite blissfully as tasty . . .

I only know that I am glad that they did.



Simple ingredients, simple techniques . . . marry together in a wonderful union of un-parralled success . . . eat them plain, or whip up some heavy cream and sandwhich them together. You could break them up and fold them into some gently whipped cream along with some crushed berries, or like me . . . you could just sit there and bit into it, relishing every glorious, meltingly sweet pillow like bite . . . the choice is yours.



A few things to remember . . .

Always start with eggs that are more than a few days old. Very fresh eggs will not create as voluminous mixture.



Make sure your whisk and bowl are scrupulously clean. Any hint of fat at all will prevent your whites from reaching their full potential.

Avoid making meringues on a humid day. The extra moisture in the air will be absorbed by the meringues, making them soften and get quite sticky . . . not a good thing in a meringue . . . you want crisp and light.




*Big and Fluffy Almond Meringues*
Makes about 6 large or 12 small
Printable Recipe

These lovely meringues are light and crisp. You don't have to add the toasted almonds, but I think they add a nice touch. These are delicious served with fresh berries and softly whipped cream, or make smaller ones and sandwich them together with some whipped cream in the middle.

4 large free range organic egg whites, at room temperature
115g caster sugar
115g sifted icing sugar
1 small package of flaked almonds (optional)



Pre-heat the oven to 110*C/ 225*F. Line a large baking sheet with some parchment paper. Set aside.

Place the egg whites in a large glass mixing bowl. Whip with an electric whisk until they resemble fluffy clouds and hold their shape when you life the beaters out of the bowl. Gradually start beating in the caster sugar, one tablespoonful at a time until the mixture is thick and glossy. (Try hard not to overbeat it) Fold in the icing sugar a third at a time, being careful, once again, not to overmix. You want it to be fluffy and cloudlike.

Spoon large dollops of the mixture onto the baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches or so between each one. If you are making smaller ones, spoon tablespoonful's onto the baking sheet. Scatter the flakes almonds over all, if using. Bake for 1 1/4 hours, or until they are very crisp on the bottom and sound hollow when tapped on the bottoms. They should be very lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

You may now use them as you wish.

I just love Balsamic Vinegar. It's rich and slightly sweet flavour lends itself to all kinds of prepartions . . . wonderful vinaigrettes, delicious sauces . . . beautiful desserts. It's wonderful flavour and heady fragrance lift it far above it's counterparts, which pale in comparison.

Although some may consider it a wine vinegar, it is not a wine vinegar at all, but is created from grape pressings that have never been allowed to ferment into wine. Sweet white Trebbiano grape pressings are boiled down to a dark syrup and then aged under rigid restrictions, in wooden casks made of oak. It ages for years, gradually progressing to smaller and smaller casks made of a variety of woods, until it is finally ready to use.



All of these woods progressively add character to the vinegar. As it ages, moisture evaporates out, further thickening the vinegar and concentrating the flavor. Some of the really good ones have been aged for as long as a hundred years.

Really good Balsamic vinegar doesn't come cheap and no wonder, when you consider how much has gone into it's production. It's a good thing that a little goes a very long way. Sure . . . you can get really cheap Balsamic vinegar, but why settle for a pale imitation of something that is worth it's weight in gold. This is one case where you truly do get what you pay for . . .

I try to settle for something in between the most expensive and the cheapest and it always serves me well, especially in a simple preparation such as this one. Strawberries, simply macerated in some sugar and then some good Balsamic. Heavenly Bliss . . .

It's just amazing how something so simple can taste so wonderful.




*Strawberries With Balsamic Vinegar*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

If you are looking for a dessert that is fresh, easy and delicious, then look no further. This tasty dish fills the bill on all counts!

750g of ripe small strawberries
60g of caster sugar (superfine sugar)
2 TBS good quality balsamic vinegar
125g of mascarpone cheese




Wipe the strawberries clean with a damp cloth, and then carefully hull them. If your berries are somewhat on the larger side, cut them in halves or quarters. Place them all into a glass bowl. Sprinkle the caster sugar on top and toss them gently to coat. Let sit, covered loosely with a cloth, for 2 hours to macerate. After 2 hours, drizzle the balsamic vinegar over top. Toss gently again, then refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Spoon the berries into 4 glass dishes. Drizzle each with some of the syrup left in the bowl. Spoon a dollop of mascarpone cheese on top of each and serve.

I had a bowl of cherries sitting there just waiting for me to do something with yesterday. I love cherries and it is getting near to the end of the season for them here I think.

Cherry sellers are a very common sight around here in the late springtime, almost summer. You see their signs all over the place, down winding country lanes, on busy town streets . . . the tell tale white board, painted with a sprig of bright red cherries. They sit there with their tables piled, and piled with oodles and oodles of the little red gems, scales waiting for you to stop and buy. They measure them into the scales and pop them into a paper bag. Nothing tastes better than a warm paper bag filled to the brim with warm, sweet cherries. It is a taste I look forward to every year . . .



And when I have had my fill of eating them raw, I want to make something delicious with them . . . perhaps a cherry pie, or strudel, or cake . . .

This year I tried something that I have always wanted to try, but for some reason had never gotten around to. No, it's not so pretty to look at, but what it lacks in appearance, it more than makes up for in flavour. This is absolutely gorgeous served warm, with some cream spooned over top.


*Cherry Clafoutis*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Mmmm . . . a custard like batter, baked around sweet cherries. I believe this is one of the finest French puddings around, and I love that I can have it here in my English kitchen, if only for a short while each year. Cherry season seems to come and go overnight . . .

500g fresh cherries, stoned
200ml whole milk
200 ml double cream
3 large eggs
150g sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
a pinch salt
1 vanilla pod, split lengthwise with a small sharp knife
50g plain flour

cream for serving



Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Butter a large shallow baking dish well and then sprinkle it with some sugar. Drop the cherries into the dish and set aside while you make the batter.

Put the milk, cream, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and salt into a bowl and whisk together. Using the tip of a knife, scrape the vanilla seeds into the mixture. (drop the spent pod into your sugar canister to give it a lovely vanilla fragrance and flavour) Sift in the flour and whisk well together. Pour this batter over the cherries in the baking dish.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until puffed and golden. (don't be dismayed if it sinks shortly after removing it from the oven, that is quite natural)

Serve spooned out into dessert dishes with lashings of pouring cream on the side. Enjoy!

One of the things I like best about this time of year is all the lovely berry fruits that are becoming available. This pudding is a real favourite in our household, probably because all these fresh fruits are only in the shops for a very short time each year.


Soft and tremblingly tasty, this pudding is full of lovely fresh flavours . . . tart currants, sweet raspberries, blueberries, tay berries . . . cherries . . . this is summer at it's finest in a bowl.



Do plan ahead as it needs to be put into the fridge the night before in order for it to set up properly and for the lovely fruit juices to soak meltingly into the bread. Also be sure to use a good loaf of white bread, not the ordinary sliced bread that is for every day use, and so soft and squidgy. Buy a good and sturdy loaf, and let it go stale. You want it to be a couple of days old so that it will soak in the juices better.




*Summer Pudding*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

This delicious pudding is one of my favourite things about summer. Tart . . . sweet . . . this pudding contains all the goodness of summer in every mouthful. Plan ahead as it needs to sit overnight to set up.

750g/1lb 14oz mixed summer fruit
(such as raspberries, red, white and blackcurrants, tayberries, loganberries, blackberries, cherries and blueberries)
185g/6½oz caster sugar
1 medium loaf good-quality white bread, slightly stale
2 tbsp cassis or blackcurrant cordial
creme fraiche for serving

You will need a 2 pint pudding basin.


Place all the fruit in a pan, removing any stalks as necessary. Add the sugar and then heat and cook them over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, only until the sugar has dissolved and the fruit begins to give up some of it's juices. Please be careful not to over cook them. Stir in the cassis or blackcurrant cordial. Set aside while you get the bread ready.

Trim off all the crusts from the bread and cut the bread into thin slices. Cut one round slice out of the bread to fit the bottom of the basin and place it into the basin. Line the pudding basin with the slices of bread, overlapping them and sealing well by pressing any edges together. Fill in any gaps with small pieces of bread, so that no juice can get through when you add the fruit. spoon all of the fruit and its juices into the pudding basin. Trim the tips of bread from around the edge. Cover the top of the fruit with more wedges of bread. Place the pudding basin on a plate to collect any juices. Find a saucer that fits neatly inside the bowl, and place it on top to cover the upper layer of bread, then weigh the saucer down with weights - unopened tin cans come in very handy for this.. Let it cool, then place in the fridge overnight.

The next day, remove the weights and the saucer. Run a thin blade around the edges, then invert the basin onto a shallow serving plate. Serve, cut into slices or spooned out, and topped with a good dollop of Creme Fraiche.